


Giants in The Sky

by ranguvar82



Series: Guardian and Pear [3]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley is Good With Kids (Good Omens), Feral Crowley (Good Omens), Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:41:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29881308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ranguvar82/pseuds/ranguvar82
Summary: Sequel to Into the Woods and Last Midnight. Hope Pulsifer Device is a very unique child. Her mother is a witch, her daddy is..well, special in his own way. And her uncles?They're magical.
Relationships: Anathema Device/Newton Pulsifer, Aziraphale & Anathema Device, Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley & Anathema Device
Series: Guardian and Pear [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2015479
Comments: 34
Kudos: 37





	1. A Presence in The Forest

Giants in The Sky

Chapter One: A Presence in the Forest

There was a presence in the forest. Crowley could sense it. He bolted up into his trees, eyes fixed on the horizon and ears tuned to every sound. There. A soft, deceptive footfall. Coming towards him. With a wicked grin he moved so he was behind the intruder, then with a wild yell he fell from the canopy, fangs bared. “RAWR!”

Anathema jumped twenty feet in the air and screamed, only barely managing to hold onto her six month old daughter. “CROWLEY!”

Crowley was rolling on the forest floor, laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe, tears of mirth in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Little Witch, but you should see the look on your face!” Ana glared at him, then played her Trump Card.

“Well, I guess you don’t want to see Hope today, since you decided to be silly and try to scare me...” She made a show of turning to leave, only for a wall of roses to bar her path. Grinning, she turned towards the Guardian. “Oh, so you do want to see her...”

Hope gurgled happily and reached out for her Uncle/Godfather, her bright blue eyes wide with joy. Crowley stood, an equally blissful grin on his face and nodded. Ana gave him a mock glare. “Apologies first.”

“ ‘M sorry, Ana. Now gimmmee!” He reached out for Hope, and Ana placed her in his arms. The redhead rumbled happily and nuzzled her. Hope shrieked in laughter. “Hello, Small One. Today Crowley take you to special lake, show you big big fish. Sound good?” Hope burbled, and Crowley snapped up one of his vines, wrapping it around himself like a carrier before placing Hope in it so she was against his bare chest. “Pear still sleeping, so we go home first so he can see you. Come for lunch?” This last was directed at Ana, who nodded. “Hope spend all day with me.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you later?” Crowley nodded and swung up into the trees, heading back to their cabin. Ana turned and headed down the path to home.

“Look, Small One. Bird. Called ‘robin.’” Crowley whistled and the robin came over, landing on the branch next to them. Hope reached for it. Crowley whistled again and the bird flew over and landed on his outstretched hand. Giggling, Hope grabbed at it. “Gentle, Small One. Always gentle.” He was never really sure how much Hope actually understood, but she looked up at him solemnly and babbled a string of vowels. “You learn ways of Forest from me. All secret paths, plants that can heal and harm. Learn how to fish and find good plants to eat.”

Crowley dropped out of the trees in front of his home and headed up the path, smiling wide at Aziraphale sitting on the porch swing. “Hi Pear.”

“Good morning darling, and hello to you, young lady!” The immortal gushed, reaching out for Hope. Crowley handed her over and watched with a broad smile as Aziraphale fussed and cooed over his honorary niece and goddaughter, a brilliant smile on his face.

The Guardian felt a pang of pain. “Pear? Did you ever want children?”

Aziraphale looked up from where he had been singing softly to Hope, surprise on his face. “What brings this up?”

“I...you’re just so good with Hope, and you...the immortality freezes any hope of having children...”

Aziraphale patted the seat next to him. Crowley came over and sat, resting his head on his love’s shoulder and making faces at Hope, who shrieked in joyous laughter. “You’re good with her too, darling. But no, I never did. As much as I love this little miscreant, I love even more that we can give her back at the end of the day.”

Crowley laughed. “Yeah, that nice. Pear come with us to lake? I show Hope fish, teach more swimming.” Aziraphale nodded and stood, bracing Hope on his hip.

“How’s that sound, little bit? Spend the day at the lake with your uncles?” Hope babbled happily, and the two men laughed and headed down to the lake. Once there, Crowley took Hope, stripped off her clothing, and waded into the water with her. Aziraphale stripped down to his boxers and dove into the lake, surfacing with a pleased sigh. He threw back his hair-now almost past his shoulders, something that Crowley absolutely loved, and swam over to them, making faces at Hope. “Hello again.”

Hope giggled. She loved her Uncle Pear. He smelled nice, and once when Mama and Daddy and her had been at his house, he had snuck her a piece of something very yummy. Mama had frowned, but Uncle Pear had told her it was fine.

Uncle Crowley was another person Hope loved very much. Mama told her Uncle Crowley was magic, and Hope knew it was true. She had seen him pull flowers out of the air. Right now, though, she wanted to be in the water like Uncle Pear was. She looked up at Crowley, a pout on her face. He gave her his Special Smile and waved his hand. His vines came forth, forming themselves into a sort of inner tube. Crowley gently set Hope down in the middle. She babbled at the feel of the water and grinned at them. Aziraphale swam over to her. “Better, little one?”

‘Yes.’ Hope thought. She sometimes wished she could say words like Mama, Daddy, and her uncles could. Though, she was almost positive that Uncle Crowley understood her. He could talk to plants, and Hope was much more special than plants. She looked over at Uncle Crowley, who was floating on the water, sitting cross legged. “Want to see big big fish, Uncle Crowley!” She said in baby talk. Crowley grinned and slid underwater. He was under for a long long time, but Hope wasn’t worried. After all, he was Magic.

Crowley resurfaced, holding the most enormous trout Aziraphale had ever seen. It lay limp and docile in his arms, and he was stroking the spine, humming softly. “Trout. Biggest one. Crowley not eat him, Trout give other fish for eat.” He directed all of this at Hope, who looked very grave and solemn. “Touch.” Crowley took Hope’s hand and placed it on the fish. Hope blinked.

“Wet!”

Crowley laughed. “Yes, Small One. Fish wet.”

“Can you actually understand her?” Aziraphale inquired, watching with a bright smile as Hope daintily petted the fish. Crowley nodded.

“Like talking to plants. I just know.”

“Hope’s hardly a plant, darling. For one thing, she’s much prettier.” He swam over and chucked her under the chin, eliciting a shriek and a giggle. “Much more energetic, too.”

“Want go ride, Uncle Crowley! Want go ride!” Hope said, gazing up at her uncle with wide, hopeful eyes. Crowley grinned and tied the vine tight around his waist. Aziraphale, who knew what was coming, laughed.

“Shall I count down, love?” Crowley nodded eagerly. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!”

Crowley took off like a bullet from a gun, swimming hard and fast, cutting through the water. In her tube, Hope screamed happily and banged on the edges. “Faster faster!” Crowley obliged, laughing.

Aziraphale swam around the lake at a more leisurely pace, watching his husband. It was amazing, how well he and Hope got on.

From the moment Hope was able to be away from her parents(and even before) Crowley had doted on her. He spoke to her as though she was an equal, and not a tiny, helpless thing. He would strap her to his back and chest with his vines and take her all over his forest, showing her paths that only he and Aziraphale knew about. Aziraphale was never really sure if Hope understood what she was being shown, but Crowley was convinced she did.

Regardless if she understood or not, Aziraphale knew she loved them. He could feel it.

Crowley’s love for him was like a fire, burning and warm. It spread all over, sinking into the immortal and leaving so much wonder in its wake. With Ana and Newt, their love for each other was like being in a cool forest. Hope’s love was a bit harder to quantify. It felt a bit like being in a warm bubble of air, but there was also the feel of flowers. Aziraphale was still getting the hang of his new ability.

Crowley swam to a halt in front of him. “What thinking?”

Aziraphale kissed him. “I was thinking, my darling, that I love you. And also that I am quite hungry, and would love to go inside and have some breakfast.”

“Crowley love Pear too, and want pancakes.”

Aziraphale laughed. “I think that can be arranged.”

After a lovely breakfast(Hope got a little bit of pancake and loved it), Crowley took Hope out to the garden. He wanted to see if what Ana had told him was true. He set Hope down on the grass, then took her hands and stood. Hope blinked at him, then stood up, wobbling on chunky legs. “PEAR! PEAR!”

Aziraphale came running. “Crowley, what..OH! Oh my goodness, look at you!” He dug out his phone and snapped a picture, sending it to Anathema.

‘Look at this!’

Ana texted back seconds later. ‘Knew she’d do it for you guys! Did it 1st time last night. Newt was over the moon!’

Hope plopped back down and began crawling around the garden looking for bugs. Crowley watched her, grinning. “She special, like her mother. When get old ‘nough, I teach her.”

Aziraphale had to agree. After all, not many children have a Nature Witch for a mother and two immortal beings for Uncles.


	2. Once Around The Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Hope's first birthday.

Chapter Two: Once Around The Sun

“Ohhh….Pear...” Crowley growled low in his throat, his back arching as he keened in pleasure. Aziraphale chuckled and sucked a bruising kiss into Crowley’s chest, scraping the bark skin with his teeth. Crowley gibbered and tugged against the vines holding him down. “Want touch...”

“Patience, my Guardian. I’m not done having my fun.” Aziraphale growled into his ear before sliding down and taking Crowley’s very erect and hard cock into his mouth and sucking hard. Crowley howled like a wolf.

“OHH PEAR...” He wanted to bury his fingers in his husband’s perfect curls and fuck into his mouth, but his vines held him tight and Crowley did not dare loosen them. For all that he was Master of his Domain, his soft and steel husband was Master of him. He howled his pleasure to the ceiling, writhing in his bonds, an expression of sheer bliss on his face.

Aziraphale swallowed his spend when he came, sighing. God, but his husband tasted so fucking delicious. He lapped up the bits that he had missed before kissing Crowley’s stomach and sliding up his glorious body. Aziraphale’s cock was aching with the need to be inside his Guardian. “I love you so much, Anthony.”

Crowley whined, beyond capable of any human speech, and reached for him as best as he could. Aziraphale lined himself up and slid in, their cries mingling. “How do you want it, my love?”

Crowley took a deep breath. “Hard.”

“As my sweet cryptid wishes.” Aziraphale whispered in his ear before bracing himself against their headboard and slamming into Crowley at a pace that drove the breath from his lungs. Crowley screeched, and a veritable rain of carnations fell from the ceiling, some landing in Aziraphale’s hair.

Aziraphale fucked him hard and slow, whispering words of praise into the bark skin. Crowley sobbed, howled, screeched, and hissed, his human speech chased away by the pleasure he was experiencing. When he came, it was with a wolf’s howl that shook the windows. He barely had enough energy left to summon away his vines before wrapping himself around Aziraphale, a glazed, deliriously happy expression on his face. “Love you.” He mumbled in his Guardian speech, and Aziraphale kissed him.

“I must have done good, you’ve lost your English.”

“Always do good.” Crowley mumbled, snuggling up to his warmth. “I hear sound.” Crowley cocked his head. “Pear phone thingy go ring.”

Aziraphale groaned and fumbled for his mobile, which was sitting on the nightstand charging. “’Lo?”

“Hey, Zira, it’s Ana. I uh...didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I? You sound a bit out of breath.”

Aziraphale grinned. “Crowley and I were...exercising.” He smirked as Ana cackled.

“Is that what they’re calling it these days? Wish Newt and I could...exercise a bit more.”

“Well, if you ever want to, bring Hope over. We’d be more than happy to have her.”

Ana laughed. “I know. Actually, she’s the reason I’m calling. Her birthday is coming up, and well, since you two are her godfathers and uncles, Newt and I were wondering if...”

“We’d be honored to come! What sort of presents should we bring? Are you having cake? Who else will be there?”

“Hmm...she really loves bears for some reason, so maybe something to do with bears? And I’m making the cake. Just a vanilla one, but I’m going to try and carve it into a bear shape. And there’s going to be you two, plus some of the village children and their parents.”

Aziraphale looked over at his husband, who smiled and nodded. “We’ll definitely be there. What time?”

“Around two? The party’s not going to last too long.”

“Sounds perfect. Bye.”

Ana rung off, and Aziraphale replaced his phone on the charger. “So. Bear stuff. I could go into town tomorrow, find her a lovely stuffed teddy. What about you?”

Crowley looked very thoughtful. “Make totem in shape of bear. Bring luck to her.” He sighed. “Other small humans and their parents be there, yes?”

“...Yes?”

“Crowley have to dress like other humans? Wear pants?” The Guardian did not look too pleased at this prospect. Aziraphale smiled softly and kissed his cheek.

“My love, you do not have to be anything except what you are. Wear what you like, and hang anyone that gets upset.”

Crowley smiled and snuggled up to him. “Love Pear. Crowley sleep now. Pear sleep too.”

“As my love desires.” Aziraphale said with a smile before drifting off.

The next day, Aziraphale left for London to go present shopping. He wanted to find the perfect bear for Hope, but he wasn’t having any luck. None of them seemed...right for her. Oh, they were all lovely, and some were firefighters, some were teachers, some were simply bears, but none jumped out at him.

Then, while he was in his ninth-or was it tenth-toy shop, beginning to think maybe he’d have better luck on Amazon, he turned a corner and stopped dead. There on the shelf right in front of him was the perfect teddy bear. It was a deep black in color, and perched on its head was a crown of flowers. Aziraphale snatched it up and headed towards the checkout. The girl-Cindy-who checked him out gushed over how cute the bear was. “It’s for my niece. Her first birthday is on Sunday.”

“Oh, she’ll love this!”

Meanwhile, Crowley was sitting in the crotch of one of his trees in their garden, carving. He whistled as he carved, letting his mind go into auto mode.

He had been rather skilled at carving when he was human, but when he became the Guardian, and so was able to shape plants and trees as he wished, he had stopped. But a part of him never forgot, and so one day he had called up a sturdy branch, found a knife, and carved out a cat. Aziraphale had been in awe of it, asking if he’d ever tried selling them. Crowley had simply snorted.

“No. Villagers burned all when….that night. Preacher say they are...” Crowley had waved his hands, indicating that he didn’t know the word. “How say...um...bad religion?”

“Blasphemous?” Aziraphale had guessed.

“No, no. Word start with H.”

“Oh! Heretical!”

Crowley nodded. “Yes! That word! Here-ticl.”

“Narrow minded fools.”

“Crowley, I’m home!” Aziraphale’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. “You in here, love?”

“In the garden!” Crowley called out. Moments later, Aziraphale appeared at the base of the tree, a bag in his hand. Crowley whistled, and a branch obligingly lowered itself so Aziraphale could step on. The branch lifted him up to where Crowley was sitting. “You find something?”

Aziraphale beamed and pulled the bear out. Crowley grinned. “Perfect, isn’t it?”

“Not quite.” Crowley said. He let one of his nails lengthen into a claw, then slashed at his tunic, handing the scrap to Aziraphale. “Put on bear.” Aziraphale tied the tunic on, and Crowley sat back, still grinning. “Now perfect.”

Aziraphale had to agree.

**Two Days Later**

“Okay, we’ve got burgers, hot dogs, fries, drinks, the cake is in the oven...” Ana ticked off each item on the list she had made. “Um...music, presents will go over on that table...am I forgetting anything?”

Newt looked up from where he was playing peek a boo with Hope. “Um...how are we going to explain Crowley? Odds are pretty good he’s not going to...be dressed...um...normally.”

“Shit. Um...tell everyone he’s Hope’s eccentric uncle that doesn’t like to wear pants because it’s against his religion?”

“Maybe eliminate the religion part?”

Ana winced. “Oof, good point. I just hope none of the parents are the...well, overly religious type.”

“Let’s hope not. Still, if anything does happen, Aziraphale’s pretty great at grounding him and making him calm down.”

Anathema was about to answer when the doorbell rang. “Gotta be them.” She brushed imaginary dirt off her hands and went to the door. “Hey guys.”

“Hello, Little Witch.” Crowley said, gliding past her. Aziraphale followed. “We got presents. Where put?” Ana pointed to the table, and Aziraphale placed the two brightly wrapped boxes on it. 

Hope looked up from playing peeky boo with Daddy. “UNKPEAR! UNKCROW!” She got to her feet and ran over to them. Crowley swept her off her feet and tossed her in the air. Hope screeched in laughter. Crowley caught her effortlessly, giving her a smacking kiss on the cheek. 

“Happy birthday, Small One! How old?” Hope held up a finger. “So old already? Unk Crow have to have talk with Mommy. Tell her to make Small One stop growing so fast.”

Ana laughed. “Oh, if only I could.” 

Crowley giggled. “Unk Crow have present for Hope.” He twisted his right hand, and a flower crown appeared. “Hope be Princess!” He set the crown on her head. “Want to say hi to Unk Pear?”

“YETH!”

Aziraphale laughed and took her, giving her his own kiss. “Happy birthday, little bit.”

Hope hugged him. 

Ana smiled at the sight and was about to remark on how adorable it was when the doorbell rang again. “Ah. That would be the other guests.” 

There turned out to be a total of eight kids, plus their parents. Aziraphale, thrilled beyond measure that he wasn’t able to read their minds, engaged in lively conversation, quickly winning them over. 

The children were drawn to Crowley like a magnet to iron. He dressed different from their mommies and daddies, and he had fangs. Hope, who of course was not at all scared of her UnkCrow, told her friends that he was Magic. 

Some of the parents looked at Crowley a bit warily, but Aziraphale assured them that he was harmless, and simply followed his own drummer when it came to fashions. 

“Pear? It okay if Crowley take Small One and friends outside? Be safe, promise.” That last bit was directed at the other parents. 

“I don’t know...” said one, a Mrs. Helen Bradford. 

“Crowley promise. No harm come.”

“Well...if you’re sure...” Crowley nodded. “Okay then.” Crowley grinned and led the children outside. “Mr. Fell, your husband...is English not his first language?”

Aziraphale shook his head. “It is, but...Anthony was...isolated for a great number of years. He created his own speech, and sometimes, even now, English is hard for him.” 

“What happened?”

Aziraphale took a sip of soda to gather his thoughts. He and Crowley had come up with a cover story that sounded halfway plausible and didn’t involve his being burned to death and coming back as an immortal, immensely powerful entity. “Accident. He’d been...out hiking, and got turned around. He got lost, and since no one knew where he had gone, they didn’t know to look for him. He learned to survive in the forest.”

“What about the Ghost?” Another parent asked. Aziraphale prided himself on not spitting out his soda. 

“What ghost?” He asked, praying his voice was normal. 

“The Forest Ghost. S’posed to be the spirit of a warlock that died hundreds of years ago. Legend says that if you go into the forest with the intent to do harm, the ghost shows up all on fire and drives you out. But if you just go in to explore, the ghost sometimes will guide you on the right path.”

“I...um...don’t put much stock in that sort of thing,” the former telepath turned immortal blurted out. Ana bit her lip hard to keep from cackling. “I’m going to go see what Anthony’s up to, do excuse me!” He bolted outside. 

Crowley was having a blast. Hope and her friends were fascinated by his magic. “Do again!” Hope said, and Crowley waved his hand, producing a row of hydrangeas. 

“Hi Pear!”

Aziraphale smiled at his love. “Hello to you. Do you want something to eat?”

Crowley made a face. “Crowley not like  cooked meat. Tastes burned.”

Aziraphale sighed. “I know. Want me to ask Ana if she’s got any hamburger that’s not cooked?”

Ana did have some leftover uncooked burger. Crowley ate it with relish, licking his fingers and ignoring the looks of shock on the humans’ faces. Ana was, of course, used to her mentor’s strange eating habits. “You eat fish cooked.”

“Only barely. Fish better when it wiggles going down.” Crowley declared, smirking as one of the female humans made a gagging sound. 

“He’s mainly a pescatarian.” Aziraphale explained. “Though he also loves fruits and veggies.”

“And cake. Crowley like cake. Also sweet.”

“And speaking of cake, why don’t we have some, then open presents?”

The cake was a huge success(Hope got it smeared all over her dress), and after cake everyone gathered around to open the presents. 

Hope loved all of them, but the best ones were from Unk Pear, who gave her a teddy that looked just like Unk Crow, and Unk Crow, who gave her something to put in her mouth that was shaped like a bear. She gave both of them very big hugs and kisses. 

This was, without doubt, the best birthday ever. 


	3. Fevers and Faunas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope gets sick, Anathema panics, and Crowley lends a hand.

Chapter Three: Fevers and Fauna

“Hope? Hope, sweetie, you okay?” That was Mommy’s voice. Mommy sounded a bit worried. Hope wanted to tell her that she wasn’t okay, that her head felt heavy and she was really hot, but her one year old vocabulary didn’t have the words yet. Mommy picked her up, placing her hand on Hope’s forehead. “Oh, sweetie! You’re burning up! Newt!”

Daddy came over, looking sad and worried. “Do you think maybe she ate too much cake?”

Mommy shook her head. “No, she’s got a fever. What are we going to do?” Mommy’s voice was high, and she looked very scared. “She’s never been this sick before, Newt! I don’t know what to do!” Mommy sounded like she was going to cry. Hope wanted to cry too.

Daddy gave Mommy a hug. “Ana, sweetie, breathe. It’s going to be alright.”

“She’s got a fever! She could get an infection, or...get pneumonia, or...”

“Anathema.” Hope knew it was serious. Daddy only used Mommy’s full name when it was serious. “Calm down. Tell you what. I’ll go run some cool water onto a cloth for her. Why don’t you call Crowley, ask him to bring over one of his healing potions.”

Mommy nodded. “Yeah, that’s...uh...where’s the phone?” Daddy pointed to the phone on the table. “Thanks.” Still holding Hope, Mommy picked up the phone and pressed the picture of Uncle Pear.

“Hello?”

Mommy nearly cried. “Oh, Aziraphale, thank god I got you! I need to talk to Crowley!”

“One second. Love, it’s Ana.”

“Hello, Little Witch.” Crowley’s calm voice sent Mommy over the edge and she began sobbing.

“Hope’s got a really bad fever and I don’t know what to do and I can’t remember any of the healing plants and she’s so sluggish and...and I’m really scared because she’s never been this sick before and what if she’s...what if there’s something really wrong and she has to go to the hospital?” Mommy couldn’t talk anymore because she was crying so hard.

“Breathe, Little Witch. I’m on my way.”

“Th..thank you.”

Daddy came over with a cloth, placing it on Hope’s forehead. The cloth felt nice. “You get in touch with them?”

Mommy nodded. “Yeah, Crowley’s on his way.” As soon as she said that, there was a knock at the door and Uncle Crow came in. Normally, the sight of him had Hope running over(as best as she could), her arms open for a toss and a hug. Now, though, she couldn’t even work up the energy to smile at him.

Uncle Crow came over, his pretty gold eyes sad. “Hello, Small One. You don’t look too good.” He placed his hand on her forehead. Hope sighed. Uncle Crow was always nice and cool, no matter how hot it might be outside, and his fingers felt like tree bark. She knew it was part of his Magic. Uncle Crow’s hair petted her. It was alive, Uncle Crow had told her once, and sometimes there were flowers in it.

Uncle Crow gently took her from Mommy and went over to the sofa, sitting down. “Let’s see what we can do about getting your fever down, Small One. Ana, go fill your kettle and get the water boiling.” Mommy went into the kitchen. Uncle Crow held his hand out, then twisted his wrist, and a very pretty flower appeared. It was red, with blue petals. “Now. This is a special plant. Mortals don’t know about it, because if they did, they’d try to find a way to steal it. It will make you better.”

Mommy came out of the kitchen. “Kettle’s going.”

Uncle Crow handed her the flower. “Make a paste out of that, add two teaspoons to the water, and give Hope one tablespoon every hour. And make sure the water stays hot, otherwise it won’t work.”

“But...but she has a fever! I can’t make her drink hot water!”

Uncle Crow took Mommy’s hands in his. “She’ll be fine, Little Witch. I know what I’m doing. Even before my change, I was an expert at healing potions. Okay?”

Mommy took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Uncle Crow kissed the top of her head. “I’ll come by again this afternoon to check on her and give you another flower. That one will last the morning.” He gave Hope a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll be back, Small One.”

After Uncle Crow left, Mommy made her drink something that was hot, but not bad hot, and tasted yummy. Hope could feel her hot going away, and her head didn’t feel as heavy. Daddy held and rocked her a bit when Mommy had to go do some ‘work stuff’. (Anathema had started selling some of the elixirs that she and Crowley made online-nothing really potent and truly magical, just the ones that would help speed along recovery from minor colds and aches. Crowley had been adamant on that.)

“Got some more orders for the Cold Prevention Elixir. Guess I’ll whip some up later.”

“Good plan. You know, I think her fever’s going down?”

Mommy came over and placed her hand on Hope’s forehead. “Yeah, it is. Thank god for nature deities as neighbors, right?”

Daddy laughed. “Don’t think Zira’s a nature deity, but yes.”

Uncle Crow came back after lunch time, and this time Uncle Pear was with him. “I hear you’re not feeling good, darling.” He said in a sad voice to Hope, picking her up. “I used to hate being sick. But you know what made me feel better?” Hope shook her head. Uncle Pear smiled. “Being read to. I bought some books!” He lifted his other arm, showing off a small pile of picture books. “We have Corduroy, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, and my favorite, Winnie The Pooh! Which one would you like?”

Hope blinked. “Pooh!”

Uncle Pear laughed and placed the books on the table, then sat on the sofa and picked up the book that had a picture of a bear on it. “The House at Pooh Corner. By A.A Milne. One day, when Pooh bear had nothing to do, he thought he would do something, so he decided to go to Piglet’s house to see if he wanted to do something...”

Uncle Crow and Mommy had gone outside. Uncle Pear had a very soft voice, and Hope was struggling to keep her eyes open. She liked the story. Eeyore was sad, but his friends still liked him. They even built him a house!

Outside, Ana had calmed down from the morning. “I’m...I feel really foolish, you know? You showed me how to conjure the Fever flower, and even how to prepare it, but...”

“But you’ve never had to deal with a sick child, let alone your child.” Crowley said. “Believe me, I know. I saw enough mums with that same look.”

“I sometimes...I’ll go over to her crib, and just...watch her sleep, and I get...so scared because I’m responsible for her, for her safety, her happiness, and it gets overwhelming, but then there’s….I love her so much, and I can’t imagine life without her. I think the best decision I ever made was to turn down your offer for Immortality. But...is there...a way that Hope could...”

“No.” Crowley’s voice booked no argument.

“I...I didn’t mean now, I meant...in the future...if she asks…?”

“IF she asks, I will consider it. But if she does, your line ends with her. Can you live with that?”

Ana looked unsure. “I...that would be her choice, wouldn’t it?”

“It would.”

Hope’s fever broke three days later. Uncle Crow had come over to give Mommy more of the flower. Hope toddled over to him. “UP, UnkCrow! UP!” Laughing, he picked her up and tossed her in the air, catching her.

“Feeling better?”

“YETH!”

“Oh, good! I’ve got something for you!” He waved his hand and another flower crown appeared. “Would you like to be a princess again?”

“Uh huh.”

Uncle Crow solemnly placed the crown on her black curls. “I hereby crown you Princess Hope.”Hope giggled, then shrieked with laughter when Uncle Crow’s hair tickled her.

She loved her crowns, and she loved being a princess.


	4. A Game of Hide and Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Hope play hide and seek.

Chapter Four: A Game of Hide And Seek

The small child looked around the deep, dark woods. There was no noise save for the sound of birds in the trees and the soft rustling of leaves. The child tiptoed quietly over to the biggest tree, staring intently at it. After a while, her face broke out into a huge grin. “Found you, Uncle Crow!”

Crowley mock groaned and came out of his camouflage, grinning at Hope. The four year old was doing her Victory dance(shuffling her feet and chanting “I found Uncle Crow, I found Uncle Crow!”) and Crowley giggled, sweeping her up and nuzzling her. “You are getting very good at that, Small One.”

“Uncle Crow! I’m four! I’m not small anymore!” This was true. Hope was rather tall for her age, thanks to her mother. People were often surprised to learn that she was only four.

“You smaller than me. Makes you Small One.” Crowley replied. Hope made a face, and Crowley laughed. “No pout, Hope. We play more!” Crowley swung her down. “Close eyes and count.”

“Nuh uh. It’s your turn.” Hope insisted, looking as grave as only a four year old could. Crowley pouted, but then Hope employed her greatest weapon.

“Pllleeassse?” She asked, biting her lip and giving him the puppy dog eyes. Crowley groaned.

“Learn that from Pear. Least not ganging up.” He groused, remembering a few incidents in the past when his husband and niece had both used their wiles to get him to do things. Crowley was a sucker when it came to them. “Okay, Crowley find!” He leaned against the trunk and began counting. “1, 2,...”

Hope giggled and ran down the path, hiding behind a rather large clump of bushes. “Don’t tell him I’m here.” She whispered, and the leaves rustled.

“20! Ready or not, here I come!” Crowley leaped up into the tree and headed down the path Hope had gone. “Don’t suppose you want to show me where she is?” He asked one of the trees. The leaves rustled in laughter.

‘That would be cheating, Master. Small human asked bush not to tell.’ Crowley mock pouted and kept going. There weren’t too many bushes in this section of his forest big enough to hide a child, so he had a pretty good idea where Hope was hiding.

Hope, meanwhile, had settled quite nicely in the dirt and was drawing pictures with a bit of stick she had found. She drew her Uncle Pear holding hands with Uncle Crow. They both had wings because Hope thought they should. She gave Uncle Pear a halo and Uncle Crow some horns. She drew her Mommy holding her, and her Daddy with his arms around them both.

A sound behind her made her sigh. “Uncle Crow, you...” she turned and froze. There in front of her, its head level with hers, was the most enormous snake she had ever seen in her life. It hissed angrily, showing off its fangs, then reared back and struck…

Only to be hoisted in the air, squirming and hissing, by Crowley. His eyes were glowing white, and his teeth had sharpened into fangs. “DO. NOT. TOUCH. HER.” He growled in Guardian Speech, shaking the snake like a terrier shakes a rat. The snake hissed.

‘Sorry Master not know was yours thought was coming to hurt eggs!’

Crowley blinked and turned the snake so it was facing him. “What eggs?”

The snake pointed with its tail. ‘Hide eggs there. Small humans come and...hurt other eggs, so have to hide new ones.’

Crowley snarled. “What they look like?”

The snake looked thoughtful, or as thoughtful as a snake could look. ‘Have dark fur, like this small human. But...not...gentle. See eggs, laugh and...’ the snake hung her head. Crowley snarled anew.

“Hope, can you think of anyone like that?”

Hope nodded. “Yeah. Jeremy Falworth. He’s bigger than most of the village kids ,and he’s really mean to the smaller children. I got in trouble because of him!” Hope said with pride. Crowley draped the snake over his shoulders and raised an eyebrow. Hope giggled. “He was picking on Sandra Crenshaw and I told him he was a...” she looked around, then stage whispered. “A boorish cad with soup for brains!”

Crowley, recognizing one of Aziraphale’s more colorful insults, barked in laughter. “Good for you! What happened?”

Hope preened. “Miss Danvers told me I needed to learn manners and behave like a lady ought.”

Crowley snorted. “No fun behaving. Now, snake says sorry. Want pet?” Hope nodded, and Crowley knelt down so the snake was level with her. Hope placed her hand on the snake’s back. “Friends now. Hope not hurt snake eggs.”

“I would never!” Hope said indignantly. The snake looked at her.

‘Can she understand, Master?’ Crowley nodded. The snake bumped Hope with her nose. ‘I am sorry. Forgive?’

“Uh huh. You’re really pretty!”

Crowley settled into the dirt, sitting cross legged. “So, Hope. Tell me, what else has Jeremy done?”

“No.” Aziraphale glared at Crowley. The Guardian pouted. “Pout all you like, the answer is still no.”

“But couldn’t I…?”

“No, Crowley. You are not going to traumatize a child simply because he’s a bully. That would make you an even bigger bully.”

Crowley growled and plopped onto the sofa. “Want to do something. Hope say he pick on smaller humans. That not right.”

Aziraphale sat next to him. “No, it’s not, and I can tell you from experience that it hurts, a lot.”

Crowley climbed into his lap. “You got bullied?”

“You’ve met my brother, right?” Aziraphale asked dryly. Crowley nodded, a snarl on his face. “Well, he was the biggest one, but he had a gang of jocks that also made fun of, well, everything about me. My clothes, my hair, the fact I was gay, my reading, pretty much anything. So yes, I know how Hope and the others feel. But violence is never the answer, and appearing to a child in your Guardian Form is definitely not.”

“Humph. Want help them, but also want make bully stop.”

“Has Hope told her parents?”

Crowley shook his head. “Told me. Should I tell?”

Aziraphale carded his fingers through Crowley’s hair. “That’s a tough one. On one hand, they deserve to know this is happening. On the other, if Hope confided in you, she may feel betrayed if you tell Ana and Newt. I think we should wait and see if Hope tells them on her own.”

Crowley laid his head on Aziraphale’s shoulder. “Smart Pear.”

Aziraphale chuckled. “I try. So what were you and Hope doing?”

“Hide go seek.” Crowley grinned, and Aziraphale sighed.

“I know that look, my love. What are you plotting?”

“Pear count. I hide, and if Pear find...he get to do whatever he want to me.”

Aziraphale gave him a smile that made the Guardian gulp. “Whatever I want?” Crowley gulped and nodded. “Well then...you’d better get running. One...two...”

Crowley yelped in delight and sped out of the cabin towards the forest, eager for the chase.


	5. Confronting The Bully

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope confronts the bully Jeremy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short, it gave me absolute fits.

Chapter Five: Confronting The Bully

Ana held Hope’s hand as they walked down the street towards her school. “Remember what Uncle Aziraphale told you?”

“Yes, Mama. I still think Uncle Crow should have been allowed to come here and scare Jeremy like he wanted to.”

Ana sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know. But this will be better in the long run, and we won’t have to deal with lots of questions about how Crowley can...do what he can do. You know how important that is.”

Hope nodded gravely. From the time she had been old enough to understand, it was made clear to her that her Uncle Crow was Very, Very Special. He wasn’t human, he could do Real Magic, and if he was discovered, or if Hope accidentally said something that roused the interest of the wrong people, he could be in danger.

“But he’s strong!” Hope had protested. Uncle Pear had looked very solemn.

“He is, but mortals are clever. They would figure out some way of weakening him so they could...find things out. That’s the last thing either of us want.”

Hope had nodded gravely before changing the subject. “How does Uncle Crow make the trees green?”

“Well, he doesn’t, not really. He helps them.” And so Hope learned about photosynthesis.

“Should have just told her it was all my magic, Pear,” Crowley said with a bit of a pout. Aziraphale kissed it away.

“It is partly you, my lovely Cryptid, but you’ve told me yourself that the plants and flowers here still use the sun. Now, stop frowning. Hope will keep your secret.”

It was recess, and Hope was climbing on the jungle gym with her best friend Haley when Jeremy came swaggering over, looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. “Hey shrimps. I want to play, so you need to leave.”

Hope crossed her arms and shook her head. “No. We’re playing here!”

Jeremy clutched his fists and stepped forward, a menacing growl on his face. “I don’t think you heard me, shrimp. I want to play, and you little shrimps are in my way. Now are you going to leave, or will I have to pound you?”

Hope looked over at Haley, who looked very scared. She smiled reassuringly at her, then turned back to Jeremy. “I told you, we’re not leaving. And if you keep bullying us, I’m going to do some magic and make thorny vines come up out of the ground and poke you!”

Jeremy snorted. “Yeah, right. There’s no such thing as magic!”

Hope glanced up into the trees above the playground. Sure enough, Uncle Crow was there, a wide grin on his face. He nodded to Hope, who winked. “Magic is real. I can show you!” She climbed on top of the jungle gym and spread her hands wide.

“Eenie meanie chili beanie! Oh Great Magic Spirit of The Forest! Grant my power!”

Crowley, trying very hard not to laugh, waved his hand. His vines, studded with thorns(though these would only prick, not cause any real damage-a child bully was still a child, after all) leaped out of the ground and wove themselves around Jeremy’s feet.

“Oh, Great Magic Vines!” Hope recited dutifully. She and Uncle Pear had worked very hard on her little performance, and Hope was determined that it go off without a hitch. “Poke Jeremy!”

A vine came up and poked Jeremy in the butt. He yelped. Hope bit her lip. “Poke him again!”

Another poke, and this time Haley giggled. “Again, Hope! Make the magic vines poke him again!”

This time the poke was to his hands. Jeremy wailed. “Stop!”

“Only if you promise to never ever bully anyone again.” Hope said, a stern expression on her face. “Otherwise I’ll have my magic vines wrap around you and poke you really hard!”

“I promise! I promise!” Jeremy wailed, tears in his eyes. Hope nodded and clapped her hands. At the same time, Crowley waved his, and his vines vanished.

Jeremy ran off, blubbering. Hope and Haley looked at each other and laughed. “How’d you do that?” Haley asked. Hope grinned.

“It’s a secret.”

She looked up at Uncle Crow and winked, grinning.


End file.
